South Africa is extraordinarily rich in indigenous medicinal plants. Recently a medicinal corner was established in the Heritage Garden with the help of the Montagu museum.

Montagu, a town in the Little Karoo, has a rich heritage of medicinal herbal remedies originating from the Khoikoi and San peoples. Since doctors and medicines were almost non-existent they made extensive use of these remedies.

The Montagu museum has been researching these medicinal plants and its uses for the past 18 years. Examples of these plants and the ailments they were used for, are:

1. Wild rosemary (Wilde roosmaryn) (Eriocephahus ericoides): Used as a tea for diarrhoea, bladder and kidney ailments, and for loss of blood.

2. Minaret flower, Klipdagga (Leonotis ocymifolia) is used for cancer, stroke, high blood pressure, anemia, diabetes and stomach complaints.

3. Bedding (Kooigoed) (Helichrysum patulum): Used for heart ailments, angina, nerve disorders, backache, stroke, fever and several other ailments.

4. Pig’s ear (Plakkie) (Cotyledon arbiculata): Sliced leaves were applied to festering ears and corns and a warm blister plaster, also made from the leaves, was applied to festering sores.